ABSTRACT
In medieval Europe, a new geographical term and cultural concept – Livonia – started to emerge right after the Christian conquest of the Eastern Baltic in the thirteenth century. However, it took some time before the name evolved from denoting only certain districts in present-day Latvia into a concept that embraced more or less all the territory of present-day Estonia and Latvia. Earlier researchers emphasised the relevance of hillforts as military constructions, although the location at crossroads, centres of trade and crafts have also been seen as essential factors. Viking Age ships, and especially cargo ships, normally needed harbours where to overnight, thus creating networks of harbours along the main sea routes. The use of hillforts close to winter routes was probably arranged along similar lines, thus making them profitable for the elite families controlling the fortifications.
